Harry Potter and Andraste
by Slinky
Summary: This is a fifth year fic where the Order of Phoenix is NOT a secret group to oppose evil. A lot of poor Harry plots and 'Isn't Harry cool?' plots. Also a slight AU not really any plot changes. First chapter explains what has changed. Warning: Child Abuse!
1. Extremely long and mostly unnecessary ch...

A/N: This is a revised version of this chapter! Is it better now??  
"Go to your cupboard and stay there until I say you can come out!" shouted Vernon Dursley. These were the last words Harry heard as he stepped into his cupboard under the stairs. As soon as he got both feet mostly inside, he heard the door close and lock behind him.  
  
Harry laid down on his narrow bed with a sigh. He was sure his Uncle wouldn't be letting him out any time soon. As he prepared for a long night of boredom, he idly wondered why his uncle even bothered telling him he couldn't come out when he obviously couldn't get out if he tried. Harry rolled over trying to find a comfortable position on his lumpy mattress. He winced as he felt a spring jab one of his newest bruises. Shifting again and sighing in relief as no more springs poked him, he thought back to the many days spent with the Dursleys and this cupboard.  
  
It had always been like this, he mused. If Harry dared to ask a question, he got a cuff and was told not to ask questions. When he did things like turn his teacher's wig blue or somehow end up on the roof of his school, he got beatings and locked in his cupboard for a few days, like he was now. Sometimes if what he had done wasn't too horrendous they would shove some food in once a day. Harry was used to it by now. That was the way it was, it always had been.  
  
He thought forward from then to the summer when he was to be eleven. As weird as it was to be able to talk to snakes in the wizarding world, the Dursley's thought it was ten times stranger. Definitely not anything to be tolerated by someone in their care. And especially not by that 'boy'. Nobody was hurt at all, but he paid for it later.  
  
Then when the truth about all of those strange occurrences came out, it all changed, at least for a while. His uncle didn't do anything to him for the rest of the summer. Harry figured that the Dursleys thought he would turn them all into slugs or worse. Harry shrugged. It was nice while it lasted. Then they had to go and learn about that stupid decree for underage wizards.  
  
All the same, it was still convenient for him at the time. After all, it would have been exceedingly awkward having to explain how it all happened. The bruises could have been from a fight with his cousin, but it would be more difficult to explain the scratches and cuts from the rings his uncle sometimes wore. There hadn't ever been anyone else to question them before, and they never really showed much, but roommates were another story. So it all worked for Harry in the end.  
  
When Harry had learned that Hogwarts was a boarding school and no one there knew the Dursleys, he made a promise to himself. He vowed that they would never find out what his home life was like. Of course, they probably wouldn't have anyways. Over the years, it had become an ingrained habit to lie about stuff like that. Sometimes he didn't even realize he was doing it. He would open his mouth to say something and a lie would just come out. He supposed it was because his uncle always told him he'd never live to regret it if he told anyone. When you're only five and someone like Harry's uncle says that to you, what are you going to do?  
  
Still it was only to be expected. Wasn't this how it had always been? Why was it so unusual that he should get the occasional cuff or be grounded or sent to his room or sent to bed without supper? All children were punished by their guardians when they were bad or if they didn't do what they were told. He wasn't any different from them. He had to learn right and wrong just like them. Only he just didn't seem to be able to get it right.  
  
Of course, /now/ Harry knew that what Uncle Vernon did was wrong, but he hadn't known it then. It was only after a few years at Hogwarts, and after staying at the Weasley's house for part of the summer after his first year that Harry realized it wasn't normal. But by then Harry hadn't told anyone in the wizarding world about it, and he had known them for two years. Harry just couldn't bring himself to tell anyone after so long of lying about it to everyone, but especially to the very people it would be easiest to tell. Harry just didn't go around telling people, even his closest friends, about his secrets unless he had no choice and he knew he had one about this. No one needed to know, and it wasn't any of their bloody business and that's just how it is.  
  
The summers weren't so bad really. Whenever things got to be too much, he'd just think of his friends and what they'd do when they got back to Hogwarts. Home. And it never really is so long to wait. It just seems that way. What are a few months out of the year that aren't so great when weighed against everything in the wizarding world?  
  
Sure, after his second year he was put back in his old cupboard, but it was an old, familiar place. Comforting, really. Even when Uncle Vernon got mad and wouldn't let him out, there was a certain sense of normalness. At least as much as /anything/ was normal for Harry Potter.  
  
When Harry went back to the Dursley's, he once more had a card to play against his aunt and uncle. Sirius' picture had been put on the muggle news to warn them, and hopefully to help track him as well. Now Harry had the happy job of informing his family that the mass murderer on television was his godfather. Also, that his godfather was very concerned with Harry's well being. Of course, Harry conveniently forgot to mention that Sirius was really innocent. The rest of the summer went by unusually uneventfully. Harry wasn't punished or locked up, but he was still half starved. Fortunately for Uncle Vernon, Harry always looked just plain old skinny or scrawny. He was so short that he just seemed the sort to be skinny.  
  
Then, for the last part of the summer, Harry went to Ron's house again. His dad had managed to get tickets for the Quidditch World Cup from work. The cup was both spectacular and foreboding. The match was great, and very exciting, but afterwards Death Eaters showed up for some muggle torture. The cup turned out to be a glimpse of how horrible the year would be for Harry.  
  
That school year was enough to make him almost look forward to going back to the Dursleys' for a while. After the last task and being let out of the hospital wing, the last bit of the year went by quickly with Harry being even more withdrawn than he usually was towards the end of the school year. Then it was time to pack and leave for the summer holidays.  
  
Back at the Dursley's, Harry found it just as bad as always. As soon as he was in the car, he was told that they weren't having any of those ruddy owls in the house this year. So the first thing Harry did was to send Hedwig to Ron with a note that the Dursley's were still upset about the ten tongue toffee fiasco and that Hedwig had better stay with Ron this summer.  
  
That done, Harry was made to carry his trunk up to the attic and where it was carefully locked in. Then he was made to go downstairs where he got a good berating by Uncle Vernon. Turns out he still was annoyed about the ten tongue toffee fiasco.  
  
And so Harry found himself not an hour into summer holidays and locked in a cupboard. Harry sighed and shifted again, this time with more caution to the springs. Not wanting to think of these things any more, he drifted off to sleep.  
  
A few hours later, saw Harry tossing and turning in his sleep. Not too long after midnight Harry awoke with a start, and sighed in relief as he recognized his surroundings. Harry slowly lay back down and tried not to think about what he had just seen. Even as he tried to ignore them, the images kept playing themselves over and over in his mind. After that he couldn't bring himself to go back to sleep. So he just stayed awake seeing the same awful images over and over and over... 


	2. The bad, the good, and back to bad again

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own Hedwig. Ok, I admit it, she's only stuffed and can't really fly and she's not really mine, but I can pretend right?  
  
It was two weeks before Harry was let out of the cupboard. Two long weeks of sitting in the dark, in a small cramped space, all alone with nothing but memories to keep him company. When Harry was finally let out again, he was a good deal thinner, and very pale. He also had dark circles under his eyes and for once, they weren't from Dudley.  
  
Harry just couldn't sleep after his nightmares. He was terrified to even try to sleep. He was having nightmares every few nights, and even when he didn't have them, he didn't get much sleep for fear of them. The only thing Harry had to be thankful for, was that the cupboard was far enough away from the Dursley's rooms for them not to wake when Harry awoke screaming from his nightmares.  
  
Uncle Vernon glared at Harry as he unlocked the cupboard door and snarled for him to start their breakfast. Harry hurried into the kitchen, limping as he went. He sighed in relief as he was once again able to straighten out his legs. At Harry's current height of 5'7", it was impossible to stretch your legs inside the cupboard, whether you were sitting or standing (and you really couldn't stand at all).  
  
Vernon glared at the back of Harry's head as he followed the boy into the kitchen. He wasn't pleased about even seeing the boy, but the fact that Harry was now only a few inches shorter than him was irritating. There was, however, not much that could be done about that short of chopping off the boy's feet. There was also the issue of the back fence. It needed painting, and the boy might as well start earning his keep, rather than lying about doing nothing.  
  
Harry placed a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of each of the Dursley's and then hopefully reached for some bread to make himself some toast. Vernon stopped that idea in a hurry though. "Don't even think about it!" Uncle Vernon snapped at him. "Not until you've painted that back fence and weeded the gardens."  
  
Harry sighed as he headed outside to fetch the paint. He might as well get that out of the way first. He hated painting, he really did. Whenever there was something to be painted, it was always Harry that had to do it. No else liked to paint either. Harry grimaced as he opened the can of paint and dipped his brush into it. "Ugh! Now I'll smell like paint all day!" he muttered to himself as he began painting the fence. Luckily the Dursley's had a small yard, and therefore a small fence, just like everyone else on the block.  
  
As Harry finished up painting the fence and put the clean brush away, he noticed a dove flying past overhead, and couldn't help but wish that Hedwig could have stayed with him. He now had no way of contacting anyone inside the Wizarding world. As much as he wished for Hedwig and her company, Harry couldn't help but think that she was much safer and better off than he was at the Weasley's house. Suddenly Harry's stomach did a flip-flop. What if someone sent an owl to him? He sure hoped that Ron would tell everyone not to send him any owl post this summer. He dreaded to think what his uncle would do after he had set his no owl rule and all.  
  
Harry sighed and realizing that there was absolutely nothing he could do about the situation, turned and started to weed the garden. He couldn't help but notice the many petunias in the garden and gave a weak smile as he saw not a single lily of any kind in site. And lots of roses, Harry amended as he pricked his finger on a particularly vicious thorn. Now he realized why his aunt didn't want to weed her precious garden herself. Heaven forbid she should prick her finger on a thorn! Although a cursed spinning wheel would be nice.  
  
Harry finished up the garden and put the clean tools away in the shed. Then he walked inside and washed up, all the while praying he wasn't too late for lunch. As he walked into the kitchen he saw Petunia and Dudley just sitting down to lunch, Uncle Vernon being long gone to Grunnings. He saw a third plate set for himself with a thin salami sandwich on it. As he glanced over at Dudley's plate he saw only one sandwich there as well, but this one was thick and likely as filling as about three large sandwiches. Harry surmised by this that Dudley was still on his diet, although he didn't look to have lost much weight at all.  
  
As Harry finished devouring his small sandwich, Aunt Petunia said, "Now, this afternoon you must mow the lawn, and be sure to trim the edges! After that, I want you to come and sweep and kitchen floor, do the dishes, and wash all the windows." As Harry just stared at her wondereing how he was to get all that done in just a few hours before dinner, she added, "And make sure you tidy up the dining room for supper too, but I need everything else done before you start on that."  
  
Harry trudged back outside to get the lawnmower. He knew he had to do that first because he had to get it done before it got too dark too see. As Harry mowed the lawn, he wondered what else the Dursley's had up their sleeve. Before this he had mowed the lawn and other such tiresome chores, but they had never trusted him to clean the house. That Aunt Petunia had always done herself. Now it looked like they were aiming to keep him busy and out of the way all day so they wouldn't have to see him. That was fine with him, as long as all the work didn't kill him, figuratively speaking, he hoped.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
As Harry was frantically cleaning the dining room, Uncle Vernon came home grinning from ear to ear and mumbling something about work, newspapers, and brilliant ideas as he passed the door to the dining room. Harry almost stopped polishing the dining room table to go and see what his uncle was so happy about, but thought the better of it, and kept polishing. It was a good thing he did too, because two seconds later, Aunt Petunia came in demanding, "Aren't you finished with that yet!?! I have to set the table. Hurry up or you won't get any supper at all!" Harry gave her a quick glance and hurriedly finished with the table before she could make any other threats.  
  
Harry took his polish and other cleaning supplies and silently went to put them away and wash his hands. As he came back into the dining room where the Dursley's had already started eating, he saw that Uncle Vernon was still grinning insanely. As Harry sat down and helped himself to a small helping of mashed potatoes, Vernon looked at him and somehow managed to grin even more. Harry started to get very nervous. Whenever his uncle gets happy and it has something to do with him, it usually involves something very unpleasant on Harry's part.  
  
Just as Harry started to get really nervous, his uncle started talking, "Tomorrow you're going to start earning that food you're eating."  
  
Harry just gave him a blank look, thinking, 'What about these chores I've been doing? Isn't that earning my keep? I couldn't possibly do anything more in a day!''  
  
Just then, Uncle Vernon continued, "I've gotten you a job delivering papers. You just go down to the office, get the papers, and deliver them all by six each morning. Nothing too complicated for you I hope?" he added with a sneer.  
  
"No Uncle Vernon," Harry replied. He was barely managing to suppress a grin. He would be able to get out of the house everyday, at least for a little while. Even as Uncle Vernon was explaining how to get to the office, Harry's mind was whirling. If only he could come up with an excuse to stay away from the house all day.  
  
Just as Harry thought that, Harry caught something that his uncle had said. "And after that, you'll go down to that burger joint that's two blocks away on Fox Street. You're going to work there. You'll have to go see about your hours, but they assured me that you'll be away all day," Uncle Vernon said. Harry could have jumped up and down for joy, but somehow managed to restrain himself. He once again tuned Uncle Vernon out, and went back to his own thoughts. '  
  
Maybe this summer won't be quite so bad after all,' Harry thought. 'I won't see them all day and I-' Uncle Vernon interrupted Harry's thoughts with a slap across the face. "You will listen to me when I am talking to you! I refuse to repeat myself to the likes of you. You will be home every night for dinner so you can do your chores afterwords. Or else." As he was saying this, Uncle Vernon had dragged Harry off his chair and through the house to his cupboard. Harry was shoved into it and the door was shut and locked on those last two words.  
  
Harry inwardly cursed himself for his stupidity. At least before he was out of the cupboard. He had had things to do to keep busy. He could just think about doing it as best he could and pretend that this last year had never happened. At night he was too tired to dream anything. Now he was in here again. He hoped it was just for tonight. Uncle Vernon had to let him out so he could go to his new jobs, right?  
  
Harry shivered as he tried to stretch out and couldn't. He didn't like being in confining places. Not since....last year. It reminded him too much of being tied up and unable to move or escape or do anything at all to save himself. Or people like Cedric. As Harry thought of Cedric it all came back and swallowed him up in the memories again. All he could remember or think of was what happened. Harry shivered as he relived those events again. As if caught in some awful movie, he was forced to see them over and over.  
  
A/N: Hello all, sorry for the wait. I've decided to post shorter chapters, and therefore more often. The question that I'd really like an answer for is this: Do you think I should rewrite the first chapter? I seem to have problems with first chapters, they're never much good. And sorry for the lack of any real things happening here. And I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews, especially Kelly who seems to have reviewed twice. Wow! I never hoped to get that many for such an awful chapter. Please keep the constructive criticism coming, it really does help. Thanks all! 


	3. Hi Ho, It's Off to Work He Goes.....

Disclaimer: Nothing related to Harry Potter belongs to me except for this fic.  
  
A/N: I would like to apologize for the short chapter/long wait thing. As I said in my profile, I was working out the rest of the story, but was going to put the first chapter up anyway because I really needed some encouragement and input. Again sorry, but I'm also trying to apply for college and scholarships, get my auditions ready, prepare for a contest, and then all my other schoolwork. You probably don't care, but I'm telling you anyway.  
  
Mcnugget~See I will post more often. Feel free to complain in reviews if I start taking too long again. I promise, that the Weasley's won't come to rescue him, and neither will Snape, Dumbledore, or Sirius. They also wouldn't see his bruises because Vernon /usually/ only hits him where it doesn't show and Harry would just lie about it anyway.  
  
Shayla~I'm sorry, but Sirius is /not/ going to find out for a while. But if it makes you feel any better, there is some of the 'Isn't Harry cool' parts coming up real soon.  
  
Allocin~He's taller than me too! I'm only 5'2"!!!  
  
And thanks to all who reviewed with encouragement to keep going. I need that.  
  
Chapter 3~It's off the work he goes  
The next morning dawned warm and quiet. The trees were green, the tulips had bloomed, and the birds were singing. Just as the colors of the sunrise faded into an early morning blue sky, the stillness was shattered. Harry woke up after a restless night of whimpering and talking in his sleep. Harry ran his hand through his hair and sat up. He hated the nightmares and he hated waking up from them, because he always woke up screaming. 'It's a wonder Uncle Vernon doesn't hear me,' he thought.  
  
As Harry silently thanked any gods who might be listening, he heard a loud thumping noise. Shortly after it ended, he heard the lock on his cupboard being unlatched, and the door was swung open. Uncle Vernon hissed at him, 'Get up! You'll be late to work. If you get fired because you're late, you'll regret it!' Harry almost jumped in surprise. He had completely forgotten about going to work. He hurriedly got up and got dressed after a very quick shower in the bathroom. He was dressed and ready to go before Uncle Vernon could say anything else. He was out the door in no time.  
  
Harry stretched as he walked down Privet Drive. It felt so good to stretch out again! That awful cupboard really was too small for him now. It wasn't so bad when he was sleeping and didn't notice it, but you noticed it in the morning when you woke up stiff. At least the stiffness went away fairly quickly as he walked to the newspaper stand. Harry realized he had never really known what kind of shops there were in Little Whinging. He hadn't gone anywhere much at all, and then it was always by car. Harry was surprised at all the different kinds there were: grocers, shoe shops, clothing shops, a post office, a television repair shop, and even a martial arts dojo.  
  
Just then Harry got to the newspaper office. He hesitated to go in. He wasn't sure who he was supposed to talk to or see. After Harry stood there for a few minutes, he realized he wouldn't solve anything by staring at the building. He went inside, and saw a neat room with stands of newspapers and a clerk behind a counter. Harry nervously flattened his bangs over his scar, before reminding himself that she was a muggle and would have no idea who he was.  
  
As Harry walked up to the counter, the young woman who was the clerk smiled at him, "May I help you sir?"  
  
"Er.I'm supposed to deliver some papers, only I'm not sure what I'm doing," Harry nervously stammered out.  
  
She gave Harry a reassuring look before telling him, "Just go through that door right there. You'll want to talk to Joe. Just ask someone and they can point him out to you. He'll tell you what to do. I'm sure glad they finally got someone to take that route though! John sure had a hard time getting' all them papers delivered in time. He's been right grumpy about it too!"  
  
Harry wasn't quite sure what to say about John so decided to play it safe saying, "Thanks," and hurrying through the door to the next room. As he walked in, he saw bundles of paper everywhere, and people of all different ages gathering stacks of them and putting them in bags, bicycle baskets, and carrying them out to cars. It seemed everyone was really busy. As he started to walk towards a man a little ways to his left, he almost got run over by a young man carrying a stack of newspapers he could barely see over. Harry hurried over to the man he had been heading to after being thoroughly admonished not to get in people's way.  
  
Harry nervously tapped the man on the shoulder to get his attention, as he had his back to Harry at the time. The man jumped around with a start, "Goodness! Don't startle a man like that son! Whooeeee! Got my heart racin' ye did!" After a few more seconds of calming down the man finally asked, "Now, what can I do for you son?"  
  
"I was looking for a man named Joe. The lady out front told me to ask for him." Harry managed.  
  
"You don't have to look far. I'm Joe. Nice to meet you!" he said as he held out his hand for Harry to shake. "You must be Harry! Your Uncle said you would be coming by today. I usually like to start people on shorter routes, but we're a bit pressed for help now, so I was going to jus' stick you on this here one." Joe pointed to a route in blue on the map behind him. It started a few blocks from the office and wound a good ways down. "You're Uncle told me you'd be walking, so I rearranged a bit and put you on a route where you wouldn't have to walk so far, just to get to it!"  
  
Joe beckoned Harry over to where all the newspapers were stacked. "Now. It's really quite simple." Joe handed Harry a sheet of paper with his route traced on it and all the houses he was supposed to deliver to were marked with a red marker. "You just take these papers, see it says here how many you need for this route, and put one on each house's front porch. You might want to roll them up and throw them if you've got a good arm. That way you don't have to walk up everyone's walk and some people are right grouchy about walking over their lawns. If it rains and the porches are all wet, sometimes we put them in mailboxes or on top of something, so as the customer don't have soggy papers. Over here are some rubber bands for rolling the papers up. Nothing to it, right Harry?"  
  
By this time Harry was feeling a little overwhelmed by Joe's longwinded speech, but he realized that Joe was right and there wasn't really anything to it. You get the papers there, roll them up, put them in your bag, and throw them on these people's porches. Easy. "Sure Joe. Nothing to it," he replied. If nothing else, Harry would get some experience throwing things for if he ever had to play chaser. Not very likely, he figured, but there had to be some sort of advantage to working here.  
  
Harry quickly rolled up his papers, stuck them in his bag, grabbed the map, and started towards the beginning of his route. Harry reached the first house a few minutes later and pulled a paper out of his bag. He looked doubtfully from the paper to the front porch. Harry shrugged and chucked the paper towards the porch. It wasn't quite where he'd planned it, but it /was/ on the porch. Barely. He walked up the porch, and put it where it was supposed to be and where it wouldn't fall off if a slight wind blew past it. Harry continued down the street, chucking the papers on porches every few houses or so. As he went on his aim slowly got better, but he still had to walk up and fix them. Harry didn't mind too much. He /did/ have all summer to get it right after all.  
  
When Harry got to the end of his route, he swung his arm around in an arc and winced as he realized how sore his shoulder was going to be tomorrow morning. Harry trudged back to the newspaper stand and handed in his paper bag. Joe asked if it was really all that bad, to which Harry replied, "Depends on which arm you ask. The one I threw with, or the one that didn't do anything?" Joe just smiled, and muttered something about 'nice kid' as Harry walked out of the office.  
  
Harry wandered down the street until he found the burger stand. He hesitantly walked inside and walked up to the counter. "Can I help you?" came the automatic response from the teen behind the counter.  
  
"I'm supposed to see Mr. Downey about working here. He said to ask for him as soon as I came in." Harry said, while hoping that the people here would be as easy going as at the newspaper office.  
  
The boy grumbled a bit as he asked Harry to follow him and the led the way down a short hallway to a small, neat office at the end. "Mr. Downey? There's a kid here to see you about a job." He motioned for Harry to go in as a voice told the boy to show him in.  
  
Harry walked into the office and the man looked up from some paperwork and gave Harry a startled look. "I thought you're uncle said you were going on fifteen?" Mr. Downey queried.  
  
"I /am/ going on fifteen," Harry replied. 'Do I really look that little? It must be all the time in the closet,' he thought. As Harry abruptly steered himself away from that thought and back to the meeting, Mr. Downey began talking once more.  
  
"Well, alright then. I'm Mr. Downey. I'm the head manager here. The other managers are Amalie and Michael. You are to do whatever they say. Understood?" Mr. Downey went on as Harry nodded. "You're going to be working as a cashier and maybe sometimes at the drive thru window."  
  
Mr. Downey went on and explained all the duties of the job and then they went out front and he taught Harry how to work the cash register. Harry realized it was all very simple and nothing mind taxing or even very interesting. Then they went back to the office and they arranged Harry's hours for the next few weeks. Harry was going to work about thirty hours a week. It was a little more than part time, but not quite full time.  
  
Harry easily managed all the things he had to do. It was all really very simple and also quite boring. Most of the other workers alternated between goofing off when there were no customers and Mr. Downey or Amalie, wasn't around. Michael didn't care as long as the customers were happy and everything got done.  
  
The others seemed perfectly willing to let Harry join in their little group of fun. The only problem was, the first question they asked him after his name, was where he 'got that wicked scar'. Harry gave a short answer about a car crash and abruptly turned away to wait on a customer. After that, the others, who were part of a tight group that went to Stonewall High, all decided that Harry was standoffish and a regular stick in the mud. "Probably that private school he goes to," Harry heard one of them mutter. Dudley's old clothes and the glasses that were taped once again didn't help either.  
  
After work, Harry started walking back to the Dursley's, once more window-shopping as he went along. As he passed the newspaper office, he reflected that it was much nicer working there than the hamburger stand. At least people were generally pretty nice, instead of making snap judgments.  
  
As Harry kept walking, he spotted one place that was open and had a fair number of people in it. He stopped for a moment to see what they were doing. At least it started out to be just a few minutes. He actually stood there close to a half hour. The longer he stood the more fascinated he became. 'Hey,' he thought, 'Imagine if I could.' Then Harry recalled himself to his senses and continued his way home still thinking about what he had just seen.  
A/N: Took me a little longer than expected, but I got it out. I can't seem to write for any reasonable length of time except late at night. I apologize for any weirdness as I was writing this at four in the morning instead of doing my Calculus. Now I am going to bed because I have to get up in two hours.  
  
Please review and tell me what you did or did not like! It's hard to write without any outside opinions! Feel free to be particular! Thank you!! 


	4. What's he want with /him/ ?

Disclaimer: I know everything! And yet, I own nothing...  
  
AN: I know! I know! It's been forever!  
Harry trudged home from work to be met with a small dinner and a significantly larger list of chores to be done before he goes to bed. He sighed and got to work, making sure to do all the noisy chores like vacuuming first. If he started making a lot of noise after the Dursley's were in bed. He would definitely get in trouble.  
  
He didn't finish his chores until late that night. Aunt Petunia must have spent all day messing things up just so he could clean them when he got home. He collapsed on his cot with a sigh. He'd been working for two weeks now and could get almost all of the newspapers on the porches now. Mr. Downey at the burger stand was starting to creep Harry out though. He had caught him staring at him when he worked with an almost speculative look on his face. Harry decided to worry about it in the morning as he was presently exhausted and not likely to stay awake two seconds longer.  
  
The next morning, Harry almost overslept and would have been late for work, except he was saved by Aunt Petunia dropping a kettle in her search for the frying pan. The sound of a metal pan falling on ceramic tile is enough to wake anybody up! At least there were no nightmares. He had been too tired for them. That was one of the only benefits to the chores. He was so tired after doing them that he collapsed into sleep and slept dreamlessly the whole night. Harry got up and grabbed a piece of dry toast on his way out the door.  
  
Harry collected his newspapers with a cheery wave to Joe and started his route, happy to be out of the house. He finished up quickly, noting that his aim was really getting quite good, although nowhere near as good as the chasers on the Gryffindor quidditch team. As he walked to the burger stand, he amused himself with the thought of him being a chaser. Then he realized that if he played chaser, it wasn't likely he'd be doing the sort dives he got to do as a seeker.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
When Harry walked into the burger stand, the other employees were startled to see a faint little smile tugging at the corner of Harry's mouth. He looked as if he found something amusing in his thoughts, but Harry didn't have a sense of humor, right? I mean he never seemed to think any of our practical jokes amusing. In fact, looking back, he has an uncanny knack for avoiding them. We can get almost anybody at the wrong end of our jokes, but we can rarely ever catch him with one. But then again, he is really strange.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Meanwhile, Harry, oblivious to the stares, went to the back to punch in, and was startled when Mr. Downey was there waiting for him. "Can I talk to you a minute in my office before you punch in?" he didn't wait for an answer, just turned and started towards his office. Harry, understandably nervous, followed him. All he needed was to get fired. Uncle Vernon would kill him!  
  
If Harry was nervous when Mr. Downey first asked him to come to his office he was positively terrified by the time they actually got there. Mr. Downey sat down and waved Harry into the chair opposite him. Clearing his throat, and seeming a little uncomfortable, Mr. Downey began, "Harry, you know that Amalie is leaving and we've been looking for another manager?" Harry nodded. That was announced last week, though why Mr. Downey had to call him into his office to remind him was beyond Harry.  
  
"Well, we haven't been able to find a replacement at all." Mr. Downey continued, "I know it's a bit unusual and you've only been here a few weeks, but Michael agrees with me on this and even Amalie thought it was a good idea." By this time, Harry was completely confused as to what his manager was trying to hint at and his face must have showed it, because Mr. Downey made a frustrated noise and abruptly came to the point. "We can't go without a manager, and as it really isn't that hard or that different from what you're doing now, we wondered if you would like the position?" Harry was stunned by this proposition, but Mr. Downey hurried on, "You would make more money, and get more vacation and sick days and such as well. I talked it over with Michael and he agreed to let you pick your hours first each week as well. We really do need another manager," he trailed off, suddenly quiet as he watched Harry think it over.  
  
Harry sat quietly, face expressionless, giving nothing away. Or he did until he thought of the small building on the corner, where he stopped to watch for a few minutes each night. Suddenly looking excited, he said in a quiet voice, "I would be happy to take the position on one small condition."  
  
Mr. Downey sat forward in his chair, and asked anxiously, "What's that?"  
  
"That you don't tell my uncle."  
  
He sat back in his chair suddenly. That was not at all what he had been expecting Harry to ask for. He considered it for a minute and said thoughtfully, "There aren't any laws requiring me to notify your guardian of promotions. I don't see a problem with it." he looked at Harry waiting for the final confirmation.  
  
Harry nodded and even gave a bit of a smile, "In that case, I'll take the position."  
  
"Good, if you can stay after your shift for about fifteen minutes or so, I'll give you the specifics and you can look over the contract and sign it."  
  
Harry took that as his signal to leave, and went to punch in. The other employees all looked at him as he passed wondering what the manager had to talk to him about that needed the privacy of an office. They looked at each other and shrugged as Harry walked by without saying anything to anyone.  
  
The day passed swiftly, the only unusual happenings were the other employees whispering about Harry behind his back. At the end of his shift, Harry checked out and headed back to Mr. Downey's office, eyes following his path all the way down the hall. He knocked quietly on the door and went in at the brisk, "Come in." Harry stood before the desk, waiting for Mr. Downey to acknowledge him.  
  
Mr. Downey hung up the telephone and stood up, "I apologize, but I've got to dash." He handed Harry a thin folder with some papers in it, "Here. This has all the information and the contract in it. You can look it all over tonight and we'll sign the contract tomorrow morning, all right? You can ask me any questions then." Mr. Downey then practically pushed Harry out of his office and back down the hall, all the while muttering to himself. From what Harry gathered, Mr. Downey was rushing off on a last minute date with some girl and was upset about not getting more warning. He couldn't help grinning a little at the man's dramatics.  
  
After Mr. Downey drove away, Harry headed towards home. He quickly glanced through the papers as he walked, nothing too difficult. He stopped at the building on the corner as he did everyday, but this time, he stopped at the door instead of watching through the window. Taking a deep breath and clutching his folder tightly, he walked through the door.  
  
Please help me out with a little constructive criticism. Also, whenever I read reviews, I get encouraged and go right a page or two or more. So if you really do like it, please review. Even if it just says. UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!! *grin*  
  
AN: Ok, now that you all have been made (hopefully) somewhat happier by an update, I'd like to apologize even though it was really not my fault. To make a short and quick explanation: in New York for college auditions, (no computer, and 13 hours in a car each way, yes we drove from Wisconsin to mid-state NY, mental I say!), the review for AP tests, and make up work for days I missed, and then worst yet, our internet was gone. Yes gone, completely and unexplainably gone. It's back just now, so you get an update. Ok, enough of the really long authors note!  
  
Summersun: You weren't supposed to get the end, keeps you wondering!  
  
Starlight: Actually..no. You'll have to wait and see, but it's not anything of what you're expecting, almost guaranteed. Here's a tidbit for you though~Don't hold your breath for a rescue. *evil grin*  
  
Non-American: I fixed it!  
  
Mcnugget: Again, short chapter. Sorry! Either that or wait some more. And I opted for short and soon. I'm glad that Mr. Downey and Joe came across just how I wanted them! And you should find out what they were doing next chapter.  
  
Gia: As said before, next chapter!  
  
Indiana Jones: Hmm.I never thought of driving lessons actually, but I don't think the Dursleys would trust him with a car.  
  
AGTB13 and Annelise: Sorry, for the long wait, but look at the bright side, I read your two reviews as soon as I got internet back, checked over the chapter and posted it. See, asking for updates really does work!  
  
Everybody else: Hurrah! Reviews, I love reviews! *Hint Hint* 


	5. The not so mysterious building

AN: Hmmm.I suppose at some point, I should mention I'm a big fan of cliffhangers? *Evil grin*  
Harry walked in the door just as a group of people left. 'Good that will make this easier,' he thought. He walked up to the middle aged man standing at the edge of the room, "Excuse me."  
  
The man turned to Harry and smiled, "Yes? Is there something I can help you with?"  
  
Harry nodded, "Do you have any openings for new students?"  
  
The man nodded, "You wish to join our class?" After a quick nod from Harry, he continued, "We have plenty of room. How many classes were you thinking of taking each week? One?"  
  
Harry thought a moment, "I'm not quite sure, but I think, perhaps, I'd like to take a few more than that. It rather depends on my schedule." After thinking for a quick moment, he looked up at the man and asked, "D'you think I could just come whenever I could? And pay as I go?"  
  
"I suppose that could be easily arranged," Harry gave the man a small smile, "I suppose then I should welcome you to our dojo." He held out a hand to Harry and said with a bit of a grin, "You may call me Sensei." He quirked an eyebrow at Harry.  
  
"Oh! Sorry, Harry Potter. Pleased to meet you," Harry said as he shook hands looking a bit sheepish. 'Right Harry, not /everyone/ knows who you are.'  
  
(AN: There, happy? Now you know. Or most of you at least should know what is in the silly building.)  
  
"Just come over here by the front desk. Here, fill out this from for me. And then this one here," he handed over the forms and then looked speculatively over at Harry.  
  
Harry looked over the forms. 'Well, I don't think the Dursley's would sue him if I got hurt, no problem there.' The sensei interrupted his thoughts, "Harry, how old are you?"  
  
Harry looked up at him, thoroughly startled, "What?"  
  
The sensei calmly repeated his question. "I'm almost 15." came the answer. The sensei watched a variety of emotions flit over Harry's face in the seconds before he regained control of his expression, finally settled on a 'Why do you ask, does it matter' kind of look. He just nodded his head at the forms without giving anything away.  
  
'Why did he ask that? Oh, I hope he doesn't need a guardian's signature,' Harry thought. He glanced over the rest of the form to the bottom signature part, and breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing down there about guardians. 'Although I could always ask Sirius.but I'd rather not tell anyone about this. That way, if I ever need it, it will be a surprise. And I'd sure love to use it on Malfoy sometime!'  
  
Recalling his attention to the task at hand, Harry looked down at the second form he had been given. "What should I put for classes per week?"  
  
"Just leave it blank, I'll take care of it."  
  
Harry nodded, and moved on, looking at the next section, 'In what school of martial arts do you wish to receive training?' Harry looked at the paper blankly for a moment, and then looked up at the sensei. "I'm not really sure which kind I'd like to learn."  
  
"Pick one, if you don't like it, you can try another."  
  
Harry nodded again, and then looked back up after reviewing the choices. "Can I pick more than one at a time?"  
  
The sensei hid a smile at his eagerness and replied, "Certainly, you may. You can switch off classes every other week or come more often if you like."  
  
Harry looked down at the form yet again, but this time moved the pen and swiftly checked the box next to something that was described as fighting with katanas and then a little more hesitantly checked the first box of the unarmed styles. At least that way he could keep track of which ones he had already tried. The rest of the form was quickly filled out with little difficulties.  
  
"Hmm.Very good choice. Those are two of my favorite styles," The sensei walked over to the front desk and filed Harry's forms and took out two more from the drawer above it. "These are schedules for the classes. You can just join in whenever you wish."  
  
Harry took the sheets and looked them over quickly before putting them in the folder with the information about being a manager. "Thanks," he said. Harry smiled and turned to leave saying, "I guess I'll see you then."  
  
"Oh! You need 30 pounds for beginning equipment. Practice clothes and such. I'll get them and you can pay for them when you come for your first class."  
  
Harry nodded and left to go home with more of a spring in his step than there had been since before the third task last year.  
  
The Sensei watched Harry go, with a strange expression on his face. 'He looks so young, and yet his eyes look to belong to an old man who has seen too much war in his life.' He reminded him very much of himself after his father died. Full of guilt and anger at watching someone he loved die, and not being able to do a single thing about it.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harry walked into the house and put his folder on his bed for later and went back down stairs. He ate his small dinner and when he had finished, Aunt Petunia silently handed him a list of chores before going into the living room to fawn over her 'Duddykins'. Harry rolled his eyes as he heard her and started on the dishes.  
  
A few hours later Harry checked off the last thing on his list. It wasn't hard; they were just his usual chores, and all inside jobs. He hated having to weed the garden in the dark. It was hard to tell what was a weed and what was a flower and if he pulled the wrong one and Aunt Petunia noticed, he was in big trouble.  
  
Harry crumpled up his list of chores, threw it in the trash, and crept quietly to his cupboard. As he eased open the door, he noticed the folder he had thrown on his bed earlier. Harry sighed and picked it up. The first thing he saw was the schedule for his martial arts classes. He put them aside to look at after he settled his new work schedule.  
  
He pulled out the next few sheets, an overview of his new duties as a manager. Mostly it was opening or closing at the beginnings and closings of the day, making out the workers' schedules sometimes, making sure the other workers actually worked, and dealing with irate customers. Harry read the sheets and set them aside. The next few sheets were the contract. Harry muddled through all the legal terms and once again set it aside, seeing nothing he hadn't already agreed to. The last sheet in the folder had a note attached.  
  
Harry, Go ahead and fill this out. We'll go over it tomorrow and make sure we've got all the days covered. ~Mr. Downey  
  
Harry glanced at the sheet and pulled over the martial arts schedules. He was glad now that he would get first pick of the days he wanted to work. Harry smiled as he finished. He could easily get to almost all of the classes and get all of his hours in. Stuffing all the sheets back in the folder he threw it under his bed and went to sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
A man walked into the dark room. A voice broke the silence. "Is it ready?" He was met with nothing from the shadows that was the second man, except a few faint whimpers. "Is it ready?" the first man asked a little more forcefully with an edge of anger. "N-no.I'm sorry.we- " came the voice. The man sneered at the stammering man and cut through his pitiful excuses, "Crucio."  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
When Harry got to work the next morning, he went straight to Mr. Downey's office, ignoring the other workers' stares. Mr. Downey ushered him into the office and sat him in the chair in front of his desk again. "Well? Have you got that schedule all worked out?"  
  
"Yes. I can change it a little if you need to, but I've got it all filled out," he said, handing the schedule to him.  
  
"Good, good," he said, glancing at the schedule. "Hmm.I would have thought you'd rather have your evenings free," looking up and fixing him with a piercing look.  
  
"No sir, I have something I'd rather do in the afternoons and mornings." Harry looked down a little uncertain, and then looked back up once again sure of himself, "Could you tell my uncle you asked me to work extra late hours?"  
  
Mr. Downey stared at him for a few minutes as if trying to decipher his reasons. Just as Harry was beginning to wish he hadn't asked, Mr. Downey nodded. "I can." Glancing down at the schedule in his hand, he said to Harry, "I believe you are supposed to be working right now?"  
  
Harry started then gave the man a small smile and got up to leave. "Thank you," he said faintly as he shut the door behind him.  
  
Mr. Downey sat there staring at the door for a few minutes before shaking himself into action again, muttering about how kids just kept getting stranger and stranger these days.  
  
Wanted: constructive criticism and reviews. No need to apply. Walk ins welcome.  
  
AN: Yes, I know, it's been what? Four months? *Ducks* Well, I do apologize for the extreme lateness, but my life was turned pretty much upside down for a while, and for the sake of my sanity I needed to sort that mess out first. (Well, that and my disk apparently disappeared for a time) I'm hoping I'll be able to work on this a bit more now, but I really can't promise anything regular at this point. The story will be finished eventually though, although it could take me a bit. Anyways, as a sort of apology, there's no cliffhanger this time. Although it is a bit short, sorry, but I figured you'd rather have something. Not a whole lot is happening right now, I know, but I hope you still like it. Any sort of input would be good!! Review!  
Indiana Jones~ I don't know about driving, I don't think they'd trust him with their car, and one of them would have to teach him, but you never know. And yes, I went to NY, and I saw the towers, and it is very sad. There are flowers and memorials and signatures all over the fences surrounding the site. There were just people all around it.  
  
Mcnugget~ Yes, I know, it's incredibly late, but I explained that, sort of. Anyway, you didn't get to see the employee's reactions, and I'm not entirely certain if you will, because I was going to try to move the story along a touch after the next chapter or two. *Shrugs* We'll see.  
  
Everyone else~ See? I still exist! And although there is a difference of opinion about the existence of a plot, eventually there will be one. Originally all of this was in the first two chapters, but I needed some input and encouragement and above all time to write. So, hopefully we'll get there eventually. Thank you all for reviewing! MUCH appreciated! 


	6. Time to Go!

AN: Ok, ok. I know. It's been an eternity since I have updated, but I promise it wasn't my fault! I had no internet access! It was horrid! I almost died! I've finally found a computer to use for five minutes so I can update!  
  
The early morning light revealed a certain messy haired boy to be already up and about. He was puttering around the kitchen getting a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese ready for the Dursleys and sneaking a piece of toast for himself. Seeing as the Dursleys weren't up yet, he had the house to himself for the most part and therefore felt perfectly entitled to wander around munching toast and behaving in a generally cheerful manner. At least until he heard the first stirrings from the rest of the family upstairs when he had to go put the bagels in the toaster so they'd be perfectly done when everyone came down.  
  
Once the Dursleys were all assembled around the kitchen table, Harry set a plate with half a bagel on it in front of each Dursley. As he attempted to set down Dudley's plate (which was promptly snatched away) they heard a tapping on a window. At first no one payed it any heed, thinking it nothing but a woodpecker. At least until Uncle Vernon glanced up while looking for the front page of the newspaper which he had somehow lost.  
  
Uncle Vernon spluttered into his tea, his face slowly turning red and beginning to shake. The cup slipped from his shaking grasp and crashed to the floor. As if that sound somehow released Vernon from his speechless rage, he snapped his head around to look at his nephew and roared something almost undecipherable about ruddy owls and ungrateful nephews. Harry paled as Uncle Vernon stood up and grasping Harry's ear, dragged him over to the cupboard, ranting all the while.  
  
From the relative safety of his cupboard, Harry could hear a window slamming open, and then the unmistakable sound of Pig hooting and banging into things. He could hear the Durselys running around trying to catch the hyper-active owl, and Harry had to stifle his laughter. What he wouldn't give to be able to see that sight!  
  
After much crashing and banging and other assorted noises, Harry heard the sound of Pig sqwauking as he was caught and then thrown back outside, right before the window slammed shut. Then everything was silent except the crackling of parchment and the squeek of the floor as Dudley tried to get a glimpse of the letter. Then there was the sound of tearing and Uncle Vernon yelled, "One week!" in the direction of the cupboard as they all went back to their breakfast.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In a long, torchlit hall made entirely of black stone, there was a ring of cloaked figures. They stood in a semi-circle facing a a red-eyed, cloaked figure seated on the strangest of thrones, if you could really call it one. Several large snakes had somehow arranged themselves into a seat by curling themselves around each other into a strange knot. They were black with acid green markings down their backs. They all stayed perfectly still except to occasionally hiss at one of the men in the circle, showing their long fangs dripping with venom.  
  
The hooded one seated on this strangest of seats smirked and stroked one of the hissing snake heads. When the cloaked figures had stood long enough to become decidedly nervous, the man stood up, removing his hood. As he did, a short, rather pudgy figure took an involuntary step back and shuddered, avoiding the sweep of the red eyed gaze. Without even looking, Lord Voldemort swung his wand towards Wormtail and whispered a curse. No one else even blinked as Lord Voldemort continued his inspection of his faithful Death Eaters.  
  
As Voldemort started to speak, mists and fog swirled up and obscured sight and sound, carrying him back to the present..  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harry woke up with a hand clutched to his scar and hissing in pain. "This is /so/ not worth it! I get to see Voldemort and his Deatheaters and a headache besides! And I don't even know what he's up to!" Harry muttered to himself in an exasperated fashion. Harry sighed and wandered out to the kitchen to get some aspirin before the Dursley's woke up and forbid it. It had been two days since Uncle Vernon had let him out of his cupboard with a severe warning against any other owls around there.  
  
Since it was still quite early and no one was likely to be up as long as Harry kept reasonably quiet, he helped himself to a bit of toast. He amused himself with thoughts of the Dursleys chasing pig around the kitchen until he had to go start breakfast. As a reward for Dudley losing some weight, he was allowed a real breakfast. Which basically meant that he would consume roughly half his weight in food before retiring to the living room to watch tv.  
  
After getting breakfast started for his Aunt Petunia (there was no way he'd finish cooking it all before he would be late for work!) he left to deliver the papers, noting along the way that his aim was improving. After dropping off his bag, he half bounced and half ran to the dojo. Today was to be his first lesson. Needless to say after learning how to fall and roll and getting thoroughly bruised and slightly pummeled, Harry thought it was the most fun of anything except maybe Quidditch.  
  
When Harry got to the burger joint, the employees stared at him as he bounced over to punch in, and then came back behind the counter. After a minute or two, he turned around and they were still staring at him, so he crossed his eyes, stuck out his tongue and said "What?!" before turning around to wait on a customer. They were all speechless and wandered off a ways to have an impromptu meeting about what it could possibly mean.  
  
An hour or two into Harry's shift, the guy who had first asked Harry about his scar came over by Harry. He seemed hesitant to actually say anything to Harry, so Harry just looked at him, raised an eyebrow and waited. Finally he said, "So you're going to be the new manager?" Harry nodded, looking amused at the whole situation. "So..you're going to be cool like Michael..right?" he asked.  
  
Harry gave him a considering look before grinning. "Of course! We'll have an absolutely spiffing time!" he said in his best Fred and George Weasley voice. Harry turned back to wait on another customer, finding it difficult to suppress his grin. 'Sometimes it was fun to make others think you were a bit odd.' He thought, 'If only they knew how odd I really was!'  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harry's summer fairly flew by for him, what with having two jobs and going to the dojo as much as he could. He almost didn't even remember his own birthday. Not that the Dursleys ever celebrated it, but his friends might have sent him something, except he had told them not to send him anything. Uncle Vernon still hadn't forgiven him for the ten tongue toffee incident.  
  
He didn't exactly come to be friends with the muggles he worked with, but they got along better than they had. They never again asked about his scar, especially after Harry apologized for being so terse about it and told them he had gotten it when his parents died. They didn't ask what happened to them.  
  
His sensei was another matter. He became almost as Dumbledore was to him, another mentor. Only he was a muggle that didn't have to worry about saving the world, or saving Harry from a madman for that matter. Harry found that the sensei was just as wise as his wizarding mentor, despite being so much younger.  
  
Harry had taken to spending any time he could at the dojo, whether there was a class or not. He sometimes found it interesting just to observe all the different styles that his mentor knew. He also saw a few that he wanted to learn himself. He taught all the classes himself using only a few teaching assistants in especially large classes or the ones with young children. Later in the summer, Harry sometimes helped with the younger students since he was learning so quickly. In exchange, Harry got a few classes free and he used them to his advantage.  
  
After trying many of the styles his teacher knew, Harry found that the thing he liked best was throwing knives. It wasn't martial arts, but it was taught there anyway. He seemed to have an aptitude for it, but Harry figured it was just a result of his paper route. Either way, by the end of the summer, he had become quite good with them and he had started to learn how to avoid return fire as well as a bit of how to work it into the other fighting styles he was learning. Normally his sensei wouldn't mix styles together so much, but Harry had explained that he didn't want to learn how to fight in an arena or competition. He wanted to learn how to best defend himself in a fight, which meant using everything he knew to survive.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
It was three weeks before he would be returning to Hogwarts, and for once he wasn't eagerly waiting for September 1st. He rather enjoyed not having everyone know who he was. Considering he rarely had to see the Dursleys at all, it was a rather nice summer. He even caught himself wishing it could last longer once or twice.  
  
On this particularly morning however, his pleasant summer was about to have another interruption in the form of an owl. Hogwarts had sent him his usual letter, no doubt containing a list of supplies for fifth year. It came earlier in the morning than was usual, but Harry considered it a good omen. He managed to get the letter safely hidden in his cupboard, but when he came back out the owl was still sitting there as if waiting for a reply. Harry heard Uncle Vernon beginning to move around upstairs and hurriedly tried to get the owl to leave, but it was a stubborn thing.  
  
As a last resort, Harry tried to push it out the window himself, but it let a loud hoot that had his uncle running down the stairs to the kitchen. Somehow Uncle Vernon managed to get the bird out and slammed the window shut. "Trying to talk to one of those good for nothing freaks you call your friends, are you? I won't be having any of that!" Uncle Vernon ranted as he dragged Harry towards his cupboard. Harry's last glimpse before the door shut on him was his uncle's face looking to be about two seconds from exploding. He wisely kept quiet, while his uncle called him in sick to work, and ranted to Petunia about freaks and ruddy owls.  
  
As soon as he heard his uncle leave for work and judged Dudley and Petunia to be suitably distracted, he extracted his letter from his secret stash and opened it. There wasn't too much light in his cupboard, but there was enough to read the emerald ink if he strained his eyes. He didn't bother with the first page. It always said the same thing. He quickly flipped to the second.  
Fifth year students will require: The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 By Miranda Goshawk Compendium of Complex Charms By Charmion Coaxtl Advanced Potions By Ellixia Morpot Where to Find the Light Switch By Anastacia Street Dragons and Other Magical Creatures By Laura Wickham Divining the Undivinable By Grace Adamson  
  
As Harry was about to stuff the letter back into its envelope, he noticed an extra piece of parchment. As he pulled it out, he was not too surprised to see that it came from Dumbledore. What did surprise him was that it was asking him to come back to Hogwarts three days from now and Dumbledore didn't say why. He only said that this letter would become a port key to Hogsmeade in three days time at 10:00. When Harry had finished trying to puzzle this out he shrugged and stashed the letter back into his secret hiding place and went to sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Suddenly, Harry was spinning and could see or feel nothing around him. Just as suddenly he came to a stop and he was back in the graveyard where Cedric had died. Harry looked up and saw himself surrounded by Death Eaters with Voldemort directly facing him. "So Harry. We meet again. Shall we finish our duel now?"  
  
Harry instinctively reached for his wand and then a throwing knife, but he found neither. Voldemort just stood there pointing his wand at Harry and laughing. It was the same laugh Harry heard every time he got too close to a dementor. No sooner than he had thought that, when he realized he wasn't just remembering anymore. He felt that coldness come over him and he had no wand to stop them! He saw them now. Dementors coming towards him from every direction.  
  
The dementors stopped just beyond the circle of Death Eaters and as if that had been his cue, Voldemort suddenly stopped laughing and glared at Harry hissing, Crucio. Waves of pain filled the void of emptiness created by the dementors for what seemed an eternity until it all ended with a flash of green light, and that laughter drowning everything out until he could see and hear nothing else.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harry woke up with a start, stifling his scream. He had learned that much at least. How to not scream upon waking, although sometimes it was a near thing. Harry sat up, being careful not to hit his head on the ceiling of the cupboard. There was no use trying to go back to sleep now.  
  
Today was the day he would be going back to Hogwarts, and he honestly didn't know if he was happy about it or not. He had managed to distract himself from all that was happening in the wizarding world, but now he would be going back and he was likely to be in the middle of everything again. Harry sighed. It didn't matter anyways, he had to go back whether he liked it or not. At least he could see Ron and Hermione and Hedwig again. He missed his friends.  
  
He had already told Joe and Mr. Downey that he would be leaving. He claimed that one of his friends was very ill and so he was leaving to visit them and then going straight back to school. He told his Sensei the same story, although he wasn't entirely sure that he had been convinced of the story. He had spent the last few days at the dojo learning what he could while he had the chance. As soon as he had told Uncle Vernon he would leave in three days if he let him out of his cupboard. Surprisingly Uncle Vernon had agreed.  
  
Harry sighed and got ready for his last class at the dojo. He had wanted to have one more before he left, and there was just enough time for it. He just had to take the letter with him and find a convenient place to disappear. At least it would be his favorite knife throwing. Harry had long since gotten his own set of knives. Actually, he had gotten two, and he intended to enchant one set as soon as was possible.  
  
Since Harry had actually made more money than the Durselys knew, he had been able to buy a few things besides his knives. They were only things that the Dursleys wouldn't notice though, like arm braces for his knives. Although he had gotten a new pair of boots with knive sheaths in them, but he only wore them when he wasn't around the Dursleys. He stashed the rest of his knives on his person, none of them visible. He had gotten rather used to always having them there, and with Dudleys' old clothes, it was all too easy to hide them.  
  
When Harry got to the dojo he spoke a bit with his Sensei and then they got to work. Afterward, Harry left rather quickly, saying he had a flight to catch. He ducked into the nearest alley and behind a trash bin where no one could see him, and got out the letter. He made it with a minute to spare. As the time for the portkey to activate came, he became more apprehensive. He didn't really trust portkeys anymore. He almost dropped the letter, except five seconds before ten o'clock, the portkey activated.  
AN:It was a bit longer than most of my other chapters, but still quite short. Sorry, but I did redo the first chapter a bit too. I took out most of the recaps of the other books. So please tell me if it's any better!!! (I hate first chapters!)  
Wanted: Reviews. Any kind welcome, amusing ones preferred.  
Lunatyme~I was actually thinking of Aikido for the unarmed, not sure what the sword thing would be. He kind of knows bits of other types of fighting, but he mostly just knows Aikido and dagger fighting. * shrug *  
  
Mcnugget~I really don't want to know how long it's been since I've updated. I'm supposed to be getting my net back, but RoadRunner is not cooperating.  
  
Otaku freak~Hey, that does sound fun. /Might/ do that.  
  
Relle~Love the review. I was rolling. And Shhh...about the owl thing. Didn't get there yet! ;)  
  
Everyone else who said UPDATE!!!!! Thanks! I would have sooner, but no net, no update. I'll try to find a way to update again soon! 


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